Bio & awards

Maxim Korotchenko is an award-winning photographer currently based in Paris, France.

He born in Astrakhan, Russia in 1982. At the age of 29 in 2011 he started his professional career, documenting the local governor’s activity. After that, he switched to working for the local newspaper Volga and some years after he turned to a professional freelancer working for various mass-media (Novaya Gazeta, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, TASS photo agency, Izvestia, National Geographic) and also developing his own photo projects, documenting the daily life of people living in the Lower Volga and focusing on the visual research of the South Russia surroundings. In February 2022, he left Russia and moved to Paris, France with his family and became a member of Agency of Artists in Exile and Hans Lucas photo agency. 

One of his best-knows photos «Diving» had received world-recognition for many times, as well as other works that took winning places in the world-wide photo contests. In his work Maxim Korotchenko focuses on capturing of some unexpected moments of our reality to show the world to people from the alternate point of view, with depth, imagery and concentration, just like someone leads us to a different world. The thin line when documentary photo could be turned into the piece of art.

Maxim Korotchenko artist’s statement:

«For my creative process the photography is always a discovery, opening the world newly over and over. With help of camera you transform everyday routine things to new forms, filling them with new meanings, finding something that could be considered as a magic unexpected moments of life. While thousands of people walk through, you as a photographer, make a pause and press the button to take shot. And with every new shot you show the new side of the world, people never thought of». 

Since 2021 he is a member of Russian Union of Photographers and Russian Union of Journalists.

Since 2022 he is a member of Agency of Artists in Exile and Hans Lucas photo agency, Paris, France.

Awards and exhibitions:

2023
Winner of Urban Photo Awards — 2023 (Honorable mention, Italy, Trieste)
Exhibition «3 reg’Arts»  (Momarts Gallery, Paris, France)
Exhibition «Diving»  (Jean-Denis Walter gallery, Paris, France)
Exhibition «Portes ouvertes»  (Gallery of L’atelier des artistes en exil, Paris, France)

2022
Exhibition «Protestation» (Gallery of L’atelier des artistes en exil, Paris, France)
Laureate of the Bourse of Russian Union of Photographers (Moscow, Russia)

2021
Winner of Paris Sport Photo-2021 (1st place, France, Paris)
Finalist of A.Efremov-2020 photocontest (Russia, Tobolsk)
Finalist of TEFI-Multimedia-2021 prize (Russia, Sochi)

2020
Finalist of PhotoVisa-2020 Biennial Photocontest (Russia, Krasnodar)

2019
Winner of Siena International Photo Awards 2019 (1st place, «Sports in action», Italy, Sienna)

2018
Winner of HIPA International Photography Awards 2017-2018 (3rd place, «The Moment», UAE, Dubai,)
Finalist of «Miami Street Photography Festival — 2018» (USA, Miami)
Winner of «Best of Russia — 2017» 

2017
Finalist of «Sony World Photography Awards — 2017» (London, UK)
Winner of  «Best of Russia — 2016»

2016
Solo presentation at the European Month of Photography 2016 (EMOP) (Gallery Pfundt, Germany, Berlin)
«Freckles» group exhibition (Gallery Pfundt, Germany, Berlin)

2015
Finalist «Lensculture Exposure Awards — 2014»
Solo exhibition, Astrakhan kremlin, Astrakhan, Russia

2014
Winner of «Best of Russia — 2013»
Winner of «BestPhotographer.ru — 2013»
Miami Street photography festival — 2014 Extra selection exhibit